This hotel is presently called "voco Saranac Lake NY - Waterfront," by its owner group IHG. It is premium level and does not have the word lodge in the name. We were glad we stayed here despite some imperfections. This voco-Saranac hotel is newish and right on the shore of Lake Flower, at the Saranac Lakes. We chose this hotel to celebrate a special birthday and to quickly access the Adirondack railtrail for bicycling. The drive to voco passes through gorgeous areas of lakes and small mountains. Note that there is no cell phone reception in some spots. We had plenty at the hotel itself. The hotel verges on being too big for the small lake. (Ads make it look like it is in remote wilderness, but it is more of a cute town center). Traffic was unexpectedly busy at the end of June, before the peak. There are plenty of restaurants, an Aldi's and a Stewarts nearby for convenience. Quaint Shops are in nearby Lake Placid (which is exceptionally hilly for walking and NOT bicycle-friendly). Seemingly 0 diversity! This hotel is Beautiful and Spacious throughout its first floor. (Note that there are NO guest rooms on first floor. They have two elevators. One was being repaired during our stay). They are fairly strict about their 4pm check-in. We tried ~noon when we arrived and the desk guy said he could not yet accommodate us NOR give us the complimentary chocolate, lol. We were able to check-in at 3:15pm, after our bike ride. Unfortunately it took about 20minutes to get through. There was a line, the computer was slow, and there was a form to fill out. They charge an extra $100 as security which you get back. There is a dock and sitting areas outside but also goose-poop and lots of sun. The sidewalks en-route from parking lot to the front entry had condensate water, a hose, and several fake-shrub-covered boxes to navigate. So do drop off any mobility-impaired guests and luggage right at the front door before parking. There is an attached restaurant/bar that offers an $18 buffet breakfast. It is too expensive, but the blueberry pancakes, real scrambled eggs with tomato, and fruit salad with super-fresh raspberries were delightful. Fast, healthy & delicious and lots of room to sit. Our Lakeview room on the 4th floor was beautiful, with a lovely small sitting area to view the lake. Stylish light fixtures and chairs. The bathroom was clean and handsome, despite the toilet being the only thing you can see as you enter! The multi-setting shower head had good water, but it was hard to wash certain body parts. When I tried to adjust the shower head, it became loose and a geyser squirted up to the ceiling and onto the clothes hanging on the door hook. The towels, robes, and bed linens were all super-white and clean, and extra blankets were provided. The pillows and TV were good. The sheets and comforter came up far enough. But we both slept poorly. Maybe the beds were too soft, with a foam topping that heated up? Or the AC let the room get too hot before turning on? Or maybe we had exercised or eaten too much? IDK. The Keurig-type machine made decent coffee in the AM, with recyclable pods. There was a minifridge but no microwave. Drawers but no dresser or desk. A phone but no pen and pad. The toiletries were nice although highly perfumed. Checkout was routine. We got a printed receipt at the desk. read more

My group and I really liked the firepits outside on the property that the concierge at the desk lights up for you. There is an amazing view of the saranac lake and it was very relaxing with ample parking everywhere. We had access to a icecream store just 3 minutes walk away. The rooms were clean, though the ventilation wasn't that good. The nextdoor neighbor had a baby and the diaper smell permeated into our room. The mini fridge in the room didn't have a freezer, and the house keeping didn't maintain our bathroom and replace toilet paper, but that's just if I had to be picky about it. read more

We decided to stay here and make a weekend of it. Rather pricey at $299 a night plus taxes and surcharges. Yes, it is new and very clean, but we didn't feel it was worth the price. That being said, check-in was easy, although finding parking in the rather small lot was not. Our room was spacious, and had a view of the main street from the 4th floor. A very quiet floor, which we appreciated since there were wedding parties all weekend long. The lobby was usually full of people, so we only got to enjoy the fireplace on Sunday morning. We would stay here again if the rooms were half the cost. read more

Voco - View from the lobby - Hotels Near Me - Saranac Lake, New York

Great rooms. Could do better on the restaurant. When there's a wedding there, don't expect any kind of real customer service. Nice looking place with some fun options but feel like I checked into there by myself. read more

I had a great experience at the Saranac Waterfront Lodge. I was easily able to check in and out, and the room was very clean and nice. I had a nice view of the lake and I liked how there were fire pits and chairs on the lawn by the lake that you could sit in. read more

Clean, new hotel about 15mins. away from Lake Placid Main Street. The hotel is marketed as "luxe retreat, 4-start hotel" while the room itself is luxury, spacious and beautiful -- the hotel service overall was not. For the price of this hotel, it's disappointing and probably won't stay here again. If it wasn't marketed as a 4-star hotel or luxe lodge, I could be more forgiving. But there is no excuse for bad and unwelcoming service. Typically everyone that arrives here is on vacation, ready to unwind. But the staff here totally ruins the mood/vibe of that. They should smile more and greet their visitors. The service was beyond disappointing and unwelcoming. When we arrived, there was no hotel bellman or anyone to greet us. The front desk staff were not friendly, they checked us in and didn't ask if we need any help with luggage and etc. Usually, I would think for a new hotel they would let you know what's around the area, what you should check out and etc. But they didn't. They were not welcoming and all the staff looked miserable. While we were staying here, we didn't see too much activities/events going on. It was very quiet and empty. It would be a nice touch if the hotel had activities/events on the property. We find ourselves going back to Lake Placid Main St. -- it's more lively there. The cleaning service here is not really attentive, they didn't refill any water bottle or any toiletries. When we checked out of the hotel, there were two staff. One looked like a young student, maybe in training and a more older women, maybe the front desk manager. However, they both looked confused and didn't greet us until we said we are checking out. The older women didn't say anything and just looked at the young lady-- perhaps she should've greeted us and said this young lady can help you. Overall the service is unfriendly and unhelpful. read more

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My wife and I have been excited to check/stay here since we saw construction. We had originally planned to stay a weekend but have to change my dates due to unexpected plans popping up and was able to easily change dates. I was able to stay with kiddos and to be honest...it was a great experience. The location is prime as it is located on the lake and near everything. The room was great and modern. The restaurant was great and had great views (a little rough as the sun was setting and hitting me in the face, but all good with beautiful views, and they offer a kayak/SUP/canoe rental on the grounds to the lake. That was a awesome experience. All in all...if you fin led yourself in the ADK and want a enjoyable experience, check this place out. Already booked my next stay for wife and I. read more

Voco - Sunset at the restaurant - Hotels Near Me - Saranac Lake, New York

Went for three nights with a friend for the Thanksgiving weekend.Had a wonderful stay and enjoyed Saranac as well. First time for both of us visiting Saranac Lake.Had a great run on Saturday afternoon Staff,all around ,especially Sonya, was most kind and welcoming.Restaurant was wonderful too.Planning to return in the summer read more

We stayed for a weekend for the first time. The rooms were very clean. It was a little noisy but it was a busy weekend. The front desk staff were vertical friendly greeting us anytime we left or came back in. Kelly at the lobby bar was amazing!! read more

I am not recommending this hotel. Too noisy! When we have requested to the noisy neighbours upstairs, receptionist doing nothing!!! Also, no additional parking places. Room is not comfortable, hotel was overcrowded. I think for that price administration of the hotel must be more attentive and solving problems with the noisy people! The hotel not worth the money! read more

My family and I ate dinner at Saranac Waterfront Lodge and had an underwhelming experience. The interior design is very bland and does not give off waterfront, Adirondacks, nor Lodge vibes. The food and drinks were very average - extremely limited menu and very overpriced for the quality of the food. Our host, Sean, and bartender, Stefanie, were great! Both were very charismatic and had an eye to detail when serving us ensuring our waters and beverages were always full. Our waitress, Sarah, however came off very standoffish and it appeared she was having issues working with other members of the staff. This conflict unfortunately affected our meal as she didn't seem interested in our experience. Overall, it appeared the rush to open the property may have led to hiring a low quality server, serve a subpar limited menu, and open an unfinished restaurant. read more

Poorly managed wedding venue. We had our wedding in the summer this year, and as much as it was an amazing day, it was entirely due to the people we chose to share it with, and not the venue, which turned out to be a nightmare. I'm struggling to think of where to start. I'll start with bullet points for those with little time, and explain in further detail below: - Rude and very disorganised staff. - Promised a lot ahead of time and many promises were not kept. - Senior Sales Manager who was meant to be running the day, left at the beginning. - Cold food/food different than our tasting months before. Also waiters came out and asked our guests what they had ordered. Even though we supplied this information on multiple occasions. They even tried to get my order during the best man speech. - Incorrectly charged with our instalment plan on multiple occasions, much more than was agreed, and no genuine effort to rectify. - Complete avoidance from the management after we had left, even though we were promised they'd make up for their shortcomings. Took months to resolve. This is including the financial issues and being overcharged, which only got resolved by us having to involve our credit card company. Details: We had gift bags to hand out, not uncommon for a wedding. We were told by the senior sales manager that reception would take care of it. On the day reception were clearly frustrated by this and we're openly rude to our guests. They even handed out gift bags from what seemed like a completely separate wedding to our guests. Simple organisation and communication between staff members would have prevented this happening. We were told by the senior sales manager that the ceremony area would be arranged the night before, if not first thing in the morning, so our family members sorting flowers could set up. They started setting up at 1pm, so the flowers had to be rushed. The senior sales manager told us she'd be around all day to run things, yet left instantly after the ceremony. Leaving the DJ to run things and inform us of set backs. Food was a big issue. Even though we had already given all the information regarding food choices in advance, waiters still came out to ask what people had chosen. I was even disturbed during the best man speech to ask what I had chosen. We paid extra for lobster bisque, which ended up being cold so no one ate it. The rest of the food was below satisfactory. Also frustratingly the food didn't match our tasting - what's the point of a tasting if the food will be different on the day? We admittedly noticed red flags early on when we were charged incorrectly with one of the instalments (much more than agreed). This happened again when we were charged again the wrong amount (much more than agreed) literally on the day of the wedding, without warning. This also in the end didn't get resolved so we had to defer to our credit card company to resolve. Avoidance is a common theme with this venue. As soon as you're out of the door, they're very difficult to get hold of. We were promised our room would be comped as compensation the next day. We spoke to the customer service rep who seemed to listen, and was very apologetic. Yet it took over a month to get this money back. We were avoided by this rep, to the point where she literally answered the phone in one instance, put us on hold, then a reception staff took us off hold and told us she wasn't in that day. A shameless lie and they clearly didn't even care that we knew it. These were the most important points I wanted to make, but there were countless other issues. I would say the venue looks great as it's just on the lake, so if you were running things yourself you may be fine, but the venue is run so poorly I would personally avoid. read more

Clean, new hotel but that's about it. Front desk staff is not friendly. We walked into our room to find a half open wine bottle and one of the complimentary water bottles was also half empty. When we asked if the room had been cleaned they said they are short on staff and each cleaner is cleaning more than 30 rooms. I'm not sure if our room was thoroughly cleaned prior to our check in. No one at the bar during our entire stay to order a drink. Complimentary morning coffee at the lobby would have been a nice touch too. Wouldn't stay here again. read more

My husband and I attended a banquet this past Friday at the Waterfront Lodge. It was a large size event so we were prepared that there would be a wait for food and drinks. This was the poorest event execution I have ever seen. My husband waited 45 minutes to get a drink at the bar. The bartender passed by him three times before she actually waited on him - he was standing directly at the bar. He tried four different selections to get a drink for me and her answer was "Nope had that 45 minutes ago" and she could have cared less that she couldn't meet our order. There was no bar back for restocking and the requests were not unreasonable - high noon, cider, a prosecco...While he went to the bar I went to the food line - after waiting a half hour - the food trays were almost completely empty and what I was able to scrap up for the two of us was gross and cold. This was an event for camaraderie and to honor fallen service members and the banquet execution was terrible and the bar staff was horrible. read more

We made reservations for Mother's Day this last Sunday. There were 5 of us. After being seated it took 28 minutes to get water and another 40 minutes to get drinks. The meal was below average the bisque was as thin as water no taste. Our steak and eggs ...asked for medium. It was shoe leather..did not offer to take back when we complained. My sister asked for dressing for lettuce 3 times and it was never brought to her. All in all we ordered 3 apps 5 entrees and 2 desserts. We had 2 bloody Mary's and 4 mimosas. Our bill was $286 before tip. We left $55 tip because I don't think all of it was the waiters fault We live here in Saranac lake and will not make reservations here again I don't believe the restaurant was prepared at all since there were only 3 staff working the floor that we could see. Better get your act together cause whether you know it or not the locals are the ones that will keep you open read more

Absolutely fantastic. It's a gem in the middle of the Adirondacks. The room was clean, modern, nicely appointed. Our housekeeper, Michelle, was super personable and attentive. We loved the paddleboard and kayak rental options, and the restaurant attached to it, Boathouse, was soooooo good. The overall atmosphere/vibe is just great - whoever designed it deserves a pat on the back. read more

I worked for both Starwood and Marriott- including several St. Regis properties. Asking for a $500 per night rate for this property is absurd! The pictures looked beautiful online, but when I've arrived I was extremely disappointed! Room was so so, overlooked a parking lot (again for $500 a night). We were moved the next night as our shades were broken in the first room. We were given an upgrade to a lake view room and the front desk manager comped a dinner for us at the hotel restaurant. Speaking of the restaurant, after we drove 6 hours to get to the hotel, we asked the hostess at the boat house of reservations were needed, she said no, it never gets busy. We came back 2 hour later, and the restaurant was fully booked up with an hour wait to be seated. Clearly the hotel front office and restaurant did not communicate occupancy levels. Lastly, the only positive of this hotel was the front desk manager Sonia. She was super nice and tried to Accommodate us the best she could. The only reason I give this 2 stars instead of one. My overall experience was not good, we will not be returning. read more

Food is good a little pricey. Service has no where to go but up. Hopefully the service improves. I'll give it another try in the future. read more

This is a fairly new hotel and I appreciate that. From my understanding, there were run down hotels that stood here before. I appreciate the effort to bring new life to a place. Checkin was easy and there are a lot of positives. I think they will be working to improve over time. It would be nice to see some sort of beach or outdoor sun deck or pool. I know towns have ordinances so I'm not sure if there is the battle for that. It would be nice to have the bar up and running, but Covid has ruined a lot and it's not their fault. Having an outdoor bar at the boat house seasonally would be a great addition to fix the indoor bar being out of service. If you sit outside by the lakeside and then you want to go in, you need to walk all the way around or go through the pool since the doors are locked to the lobby. That would seem like a quick remedy with a key card access. We did not have hot water or a lot of water pressure for our showers on day two. I know it was probably a busy time, but the equipment should be able to handle the number of people. For a higher end hotel, it would be nice to have a few more amenities that would keep me at the hotel a little more, but I do think it's a lovely place and I would absolutely consider it again if I return to the area. read more

My wife and I spent Memorial Day Weekend at this new hotel right on the water. Beautiful property, great, spotless guest rooms. Took a boat ride on the hotel's boats on the lake...really pretty! Biggest surprise: the food! Amazing! We ate in the Harvest Room one night...we had no idea there would be food and service like this outside of New York City! Delicious! The Boat House Restaurant is a great spot that has outdoor dining, fire pits on the deck in the evening. This is a MUCH nicer location than Lake Placid with the crowds and construction! read more

Very nice looking hotel. That was about it. Our stay was for 3 nights. First morning, no hot water. The hotel had a boiler problem. After being out all day and returning on the second night, no housing keeping. In fact no house keeping the entire stay. Staff was perfectly fine with us taking towels and toiletries from the carts in the hallways. Bumped into a couple of young kids (staff) coming out of the linen closet a few times - ah to be young - but very little being done in the way of hotel customer service. Best way to describe the "Boat House", the hotel's restaurant, was sterile. 4 paddles and two pairs of snow shoes decorate the walls. Limited menu. Probably the only restaurant in Saranac that reservations weren't required - no one there. Bartender ignored customers. Get some bear spray, a Weber camp grill, some nice steaks, fish and your favorite beverage and find a lean-to in the woods. You'll be more comfortable & have a much more enjoyable stay in the Adirondacks. read more